Do you think it's possible for a cat to kill a squirrel?

[rugbymum143]

I have just noticed on my garden something that looks suspiciously like a squirrel's tail. It's furry & was definitely attached to something but I'm trying to convince myself that none of my cats would be able to catch, let alone kill a squirrel. They've never had anything bigger than a vole and there is no sign of any body with the tail. Please reassure me that my cats couldn't possibly be squirrel killers! I know it's nature but this is the yuck bit of cat ownership. Haven't looked too closely at the said item as I 'm being a bit pathetic & don't want to touch it. DH can sort it when he comes home.

If they can catch it, they can kill it.

I'd suspect the squirrel might have been on the way out before it fell foul of the feline.

My friends cat killed a red squirrel and left it on the doormat.

Oh no! That's very bad form. Greys only!

In her younger days mine brought in a bat one night! We managed to rescue it - am not sure she really knew what to do with it. She also brought a live, flapping fish home once - out of a very nearby pond I guess. We didn't manage to save that.
Never a squirrel though (that we know of)

We once had a cat that killed a fox

He was a massive big bugger (the cat, not the fox)

jaspercat - one of my mum's cats brought a bat in one evening! It was also thankfully still alive and we managed to extricate it from the situation and release it outside again where it seemed to fly off okay. We could never figure out whether the cat had managed an amazing feat of acrobatic skill in grabbing the bat from the sky or if the poor thing had misjudged a window or something similar and fallen stunned to the ground where he just happened upon it...

I was on a conference call in my kitchen once when the cat came in through the cat flap and dropped a dead squirrel on my feet. I couldn't scream... But did make an odd high pitched squeak

Dead squirrels' tails look odd. Nowhere near as bushy as when they are alive. I've had the pleasure of removing several from my house since that day.

Also had bats, a weasel, armies of rats and mice. And frogs. If you don't find them before they expire under your book case they STINK!!!

Over the years our cats have brought in all sorts.
squirrels, rabbits, crows, pigeons, goldfish etc.

they are often very tidy when they eat them. A whole rabbit can be eaten on a carpet and only the tail left...

Oh yes, add bat, frog and weasel to our list too!

Mine have brought in squirrels (they like to crunch the heads in front of me - squirrel brains seem particularly delicious), rabbits (these are disembowelled) and weasels along with the usual mice, voles etc.

For some reason mice bowels are always rejected. They shrivel up into little green blobs.

I love my cats - honestly

They don't have to be left out overnight - killing can happen in the daytime too. Or the evening.

My DM had a real hard ass cat that was tiny but had a go at anything. Apart from the usual mice, rats, birds etc she killed weasels, rabbits and I saw her try to take down a massive pheasant once (that proved a bit much even for her when the pheasant rounded on her an started pecking away!)

If this is the right pic it's my cat and a couple of others working as a team

I love that picture - they seem so purposeful.

(The squirrel escaped that time though if I recall?)

Yes the squirrel did escape